Needless to say, the director and cast give us much cause for optimism, as have the various quotes that have come out of the Godzilla camp. Gareth Edwards was quoted as saying:
“Godzilla is definitely a representation of the wrath of nature. The theme is man versus nature and Godzilla is certainly the nature side of it. You can’t win that fight. Nature’s always going to win and that’s what the subtext of our movie is about. He’s the punishment we deserve.”
Couple that with the trailer’s suggestion that this would be a global catastrophe as opposed to a contained issue, and you start to get a sense of what the film is striving towards. It is little things like a well thought-out and developed subtext that really separate the great monster movies from the good ones. Pacific Rim, for example, was an absolute blast of an experience in cinemas – robots fighting monsters, right? But compare it to something like Frankenstein, which alludes to themes like the dangers of advanced science and what it means to be human, and the former starts to feel rather shallow. Fun, yes, but shallow all the same.
Much like his first film, it does actually appear that Gareth Edwards is keen to embed a social critique in his version of the King of the Monsters. It’s a bold move, sure, but it seems very reminiscent of the initial thinking behind Toho’s rampaging lizard way back in 1954. Edwards seems to have something he wants to say, and he looks just about ready to let it loose in one gigantic, bellowing reptilian roar later this month.
Be afraid of Godzilla.
Be in awe of Godzilla.
But, perhaps more importantly, be optimistic about Godzilla!